NewsNM note - Spence. Just when all the negatives we are hearing about the true nature of corporate greed hits a crescendo, we find ourselves reading this story about exactly why Albququerque consumers are paying the lowest gas prices in the nation.

KOB - For the cheapest gas prices in the country – look no further than Albuquerque. The Lundberg Survey of Fuel Prices shows Albuquerque has the nation’s lowest average price – at $.3.07 a gallon. We’re told the low prices are partly because Albuquerque has more stations that are owned by large companies – rather than those that are privately-owned. Right now, the large companies are able to lower their prices a bit. Read full story here: News New Mexico

Gallup -- Republicans' support for Herman Cain has surged to 18%, their support for Rick Perry has sagged to 15%, and their support for Mitt Romney remains relatively stable at 20%. However, Romney's support is matched by the 20% of Republicans who are unsure which candidate they will back for the Republican nomination in 2012. Read full story here: News New Mexico

KOB - Protesters at the University of New Mexico do not have the right to stay overnight at their makeshift camp – in fact, they might not have the right to be there at all, university officials said today. Protesters have been camped out on campus since late last month as part of the “Occupy Albuquerque” protest, which is connected to the nationwide “Occupy Wall Street’ movement to protest excessive Wall Street profits and practices. A UNM official told KOB Eyewitness News 4 that is all boils down to a permit – and the protesters applied for the wrong one. They needed to have an “outdoor” permit that would allow them to set up camp during the day. Read full story here: News New Mexico

From KOB-TV.com - By Shaun Griswold - It was another perfect day that capped a near perfect end to Albuquerque's biggest event. The final mass ascension at the 2011 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta took place under clear skies on Sunday.' Fiesta organizers said more than 100,000 people attended Sunday's mass ascension. Organizers were worried that poor weather conditions - such as the high winds and rain that cancelled three days of weekday events - would hurt the closing weekend. Those worries were squashed by warm weather and cloudless skies. On Saturday, the snowcapped Sandia Mountains offered the perfect backdrop for the mass ascension. The special shapes Glowdeo and fireworks show took place last night without any delay. Sunday completed the optimal weekend as balloons launched into the Albuquerque sky for one last time until 2012. Read more

Townhall - Occupy Wall Street is a chaotic collection of people with conflicting messages. According to the New York Times, they represent “A feeling of mass injustice.” They want to:

• make banks safer, and let them fail,
• name and shame fat cat salarymen,
• free legislators from special interests, and
• change the United States’ two-party system.
One sign seems to cancel out another. Some, like “End the Fed,” could be seen at a Ron Paul or Tea Party rally. Some, like “unf*#@ the world,” are vague. Others, like, “Smash Capitalism, Liberate the Planet,” represent an underlying mindset.
It would be easy to write them off as a group of kooks who will go away after they have had their ten minutes of fame. However, what began as an apparent grassroots movement may have been high-jacked. Commenting on Occupy Wall Street, Nancy Pelosi said “God bless them.” According to the Washington Post, “Prominent House Democrats are embracing the Occupy Wall Street protests” and CNN reports that labor unions have pledged their support: “Wall Street protests swelled Wednesday to their largest numbers yet, after local unions pledged support to a third week of demonstrations against income inequality, corporate greed, corruption and a list of other social ills.” Rush Limbaugh believes George Soros money is behind the protests. What if they do not go away? What if they were to get their way? Read full column here: News New Mexico

KCBS — Even though the federal government threatened a crack down on California’s medical marijuana clubs this week, The Cow Palace is brazenly hosting a Cannabis Expo that includes a job fair just south of San Francisco. Medical marijuana growers and sellers gathered this weekend with no sign of the feds in sight at the West Coast Cannabis Expo. However, an array of aromas emitting from medicinal marijuanas and their budding entrepreneurs was prevalent as they displayed their wares, almost like a wine-tasting. Read full story here: News New Mexico